Representative LaMonica McIver Escapes Punishment from House Committee

Strategic Insights -

Representative LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat, has been charged with assaulting immigration agents outside a migrant detention center in Newark. A push to censure her and eject her from a House committee over the incident failed, with seven Republicans joining Democrats to block the resolution. The controversy centers around the Newark detention center, run by GEO Group, which has a contract with ICE to hold migrants at risk of deportation. McIver has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has maintained her defiance, stating that she will not be intimidated by the attempt to oust her from the committee.

Key Takeaways:

  • Representative LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat, has been charged with assaulting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside a migrant detention center in Newark.
  • McIver has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has maintained her defiance, stating that she will not be intimidated by the attempt to oust her from the committee.
  • The Newark detention center, run by GEO Group, has a contract with ICE to hold migrants at risk of deportation, sparking controversy over the facility's operation and safety.
  • Alina Habba, New Jersey's top federal prosecutor, announced in a May news release that she was dropping the trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka but would pursue charges against McIver.
  • A grand jury later handed up an indictment that accused McIver of ''forcibly grabbing'' one agent and ''using her forearms'' to strike a second agent as she sought to block Baraka's arrest.
  • Representative Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican, moved to censure McIver and remove her from the Committee on Homeland Security, arguing that her actions ''do not reflect creditably on the House''.
  • Higgins's resolution was tabled by Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the Democratic whip, with numerous Democrats and moderate Republicans supporting the move.
  • GEO Group's contract with ICE to hold migrants at risk of deportation has raised concerns over the facility's operation and safety.
  • In the weeks before Baraka's arrest, he had argued in court and in visits to the detention center that it had not been fully inspected and was operating without a valid certificate of occupancy.
  • Unrest over food portions and crowding ended with four men escaping through a jailhouse wall on June 13, only to be rearrested later.
  • Ms. Habba, the former personal lawyer to President Trump, has courted controversy as she pursued high-profile cases against New Jersey Democrats.

Statistics:

  • 1,000: The maximum number of migrants that the Newark detention center, run by GEO Group, has a contract with ICE to hold at risk of deportation.
  • 2: The number of Democratic colleagues who accompanied McIver on a tour of the detention center immediately after the incident.
  • 10: The number of days that elapsed between the incident and Alina Habba's announcement that she was dropping the trespassing charge against Baraka but pursuing charges against McIver.
  • 4: The number of men who escaped through a jailhouse wall at the Newark detention center on June 13.
  • 5: The number of weeks that elapsed before the last of the four escaped men was rearrested.

Sources:

  • The New York Times
  • Adam Gray for The New York Times (photograph)